Busting a political myth
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Scare campaigns.
Both major parties run them and a lot of the time voters fall for them.
The Liberal and National Coalition Government was eagerly awaiting Labor's costings last week; you could hear the Prime Minister and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg warming up to start singing the well-worn hymn from the conservative bible.
Labor can't manage money.
Labor claimed it would create surpluses twice as large as the LNP's over the next decade.
Right on cue Treasurer Josh Frydenberg cleared his throat and said "Labor's surpluses cannot be believed and the Australian people know that"
"They know the last time Labor delivered a surplus was 1989, Wayne Swan promised surpluses that never eventuated".
Hang on a minute there Josh.
Before the Coalition came to office in 2013, it promised a surplus in "each and every year" of its first term.
Well, we are still waiting for those surpluses to be delivered.
The Prime Minister has tried many time to pull the wool over voter's eyes by saying the Government is back in surplus.
Or "We've brought the budget back to surplus next year". Not we have, but we may do next year, hardly convincing economic management language.
Labor's bold franking credits and negative gearing policies pass the pub test of responsible fiscal policy. They say it will give a better $17 billion surplus across the next four years.
Labor's Chris Bowen has set out to tax a few to benefit the many.
For example, more than 95 per cent of people won't be negatively impacted by the franking credit change.
But Labor taxes more than the Coalition, right? Wrong.
Economist Stephen Koukoulas noted back in 2012 that the Howard government was the highest taxing government in Australia's history
"In 2004-05 and 2005-06, the tax to GDP (Gross domestic product) ratio reached a record high 24.2 per cent. Also, there have been only seven occasions where the tax to GDP ratio has been more than 23.5 per cent of GDP, and all seven were under the Howard government," he said
"In a similar vein, in the last 30 years, there have been 10 occasions when the tax to GDP ratio has been below 22.0 per cent of GDP and all 10 were under a Labor Government. Put simply; the Howard government was a high taxer."
Myth busted.